Circus trouble
by Maladin
Summary: After his banishment, Zuko did not care about trivialities such as entertainment. Little did he know that his opinion would change drastically after a forced trip to the local circus...
1. Chapter 1

**Avatar: the last airbender belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko and Nickelodeon.  
This story takes place during Zuko's banishment but before Aang's rescue from the iceberg. Also, the lines "like asking cat-squirrels about the whereabouts of the Avatar" and "It brought a very bad mental image" both are references to Lost In A Dark Wood's awesome fanfiction, **_**Azula's Fangirl Crush**_**.**

  
-

Zuko let out an exasperated sigh. He should be searching for the Avatar's location to restore his honour and hopefully go back to a normal life, but his uncle had yet again delayed his search to bring him to a circus. A _circus_. Instead of doing something actually productive, like asking cat-squirrels about the whereabouts of the Avatar, he had to watch a platypus bear dressed as a court jester. As the creature was led outside by a trainer, an elegantly dressed man walked into the circus ring. Zuko barely listened to him. Then he heard _it_.

"...whose grace and agility rivals those of the airbenders..."

_Airbender?_ His eyes widened. "The Avat-" He started to yell until Iroh put his hand on his mouth, shutting him up.

"Hush !" Iroh said as Zuko glared at him. "We'll see the highpoint of the show, an acrobat!" He then removed his hand, allowing the prince to grunt his annoyance.

Crossing his arms, he looked up and saw that the acrobat, wearing a colourful attire as well as a golden tiara, was already there, gracefully walking on a high wire. He noticed a little platform, surmounted by a short stick, balancing on the wire and his jaw dropped when accomplished a head stand on the stick. With only one hand. He soon recovered from his surprise and disappointment dawned on him. People wasted such talents in _entertainments_ instead of useful endeavours like, say, searching for Avatars.

"Oooh!" Iroh said as the acrobat propelled herself in the air and landed on the wire, standing perfectly balanced. "I always wanted to be in a circus when I was little! Did you too Zuko?"

_Oh for the love of Agni._ Zuko lamented as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

-

The performance now finished, Zuko walked around the tents, waiting for Iroh to stop complimenting the circus master, artists and other animals and finally come back to the ship.

He had just passed by a particularly big and colourful tent when he was yanked inside.

"What the?" Zuko uttered as he turned his head to see his abductor. "You?" He exclaimed when he discovered it was the acrobat he had watched earlier on.

"Yep. I saw you before you entered the main tent." She replied as drew him toward a chair in the middle of the tent with surprising strength and made him sit on it. She took his helmet off and walked to her dressing table. "Remember me?" She asked as she laid it on the table.

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Of course." He sat more comfortably on the chair. "You're the highpoint of the show."

She giggled. "No, silly. Guess again, Zuko." She retorted, causing him to wonder how he knew his name, as she did a perfect cartwheel. "Does it jog your memory?" Zuko resisted the urge to roll his eyes again and shook his head. "Oh well. Maybe that will." She cupped her hands together. "_Aw, they're so cute together._" She cooed.

Zuko raised an eyebrow. This line _was_ familiar. "You're a friend of my sister...?" She nodded. Zuko restrained a shudder, any friend of his sister could only be his enemy. "What's your name again..." He rubbed his forehead, trying to remember who Azula played with when they were younger. "Ah!" He snapped his fingers. "That's Mai, right?"

"No." She deadpanned. "I'm Ty Lee." Zuko blinked. "Ty Lee, you know? _Ty Lee._" He blinked again. "C'mon, we were only two playing with Azula, that's not so difficult!"

"...Cartwheel girl?" Zuko ventured uneasily.

Ty Lee frowned. "Yeah. _Cartwheel girl_."

"And... What do you want anyhow? I've an Avatar to catch, you know." He turned his head toward the exit, waving dismissingly his hand at Ty Lee. "We barely know each other, we have nothing to share." He started to get up when Ty Lee cartwheeled toward him and landed on his lap, sending him back into the chair.

"Then we'll learn about each other!" She wrapped her legs tighter around the chair to prevent Zuko to get up again. "How about it? It's so much better than simply reading your aura!"

Zuko grabbed her waist and tried to pull her off him but failed miserably as it caused the girl to tighten her grip even more. "No." He replied.

"Awww." Ty Lee put her arms around his neck, adding discomfort to his current frustration. "Why?"

"Because I have an Avat-"

"An Avatar to catch, I know, you already said it." She leaned closer. "But you can surely delay it a little to speak with a friend, hm?"

Still struggling to weaken Ty Lee's grasp, Zuko growled. "You're not _my_ friend. You're _Azula's_."

She smiled. "But that doesn't mean I can't befriend you, does it?"

Zuko sighed. He realized that convincing Ty Lee to let him go was less likely than Ba Sing Se being taken over by, say, a teenaged trio. "Fine. Bonding time. _Joy_."

"Great!" She exclaimed as she lowered her arms from his neck to hug him. Zuko reflexively hugged her back; not doing so might have hurt her feelings -if this was even _possible_- and the caring boy from before his banishment had not completely disappeared to the cruel world, no matter how he wanted to please his father and how the Fire Lord despised compassion.

"How about we tell each other what we think of the other?" She proposed with enthusiasm. _Too much_ enthusiasm for him to feel comfortable. "You start!"

Zuko glanced sideward and sighed. He hoped the Avatar wouldn't be as... _Ty Lee-ish_ as her. "As you wish." He actually looked at her since she yanked him inside and noticed -now that she stopped hugging him he could see more than her face, back or hair- that she had changed her outfit. "You're... hm... pink." He wanted to add 'and sitting on me' but he knew it wouldn't have removed her from him.

She giggled. "I guess so. My turn!" She looked him in the eyes. "I think you're..." Still seating on his lap, she moved her upper body away from his own and stroked her chin. "Cute. Yeah, you're cute."

"No, I'm _not_ trying too har-" Zuko blinked; it wasn't the qualifier he expected. "What did you say?"

She giggled. _Again_. "I said you're cute." He widened his eyes. "What? It's true!"

"My turn now!" Zuko suddenly exclaimed, wanting to escape the situation the fastest he could. "I think you'r-" Ty Lee interrupted with another giggle, though this one had something sinister in its tone.

"Oh, _Zuzu_..." Zuko cringed at the nickname. "I wasn't finished." She said, smirking and increasing his uneasiness. She grabbed his shoulders and Zuko gasped in surprise as she closed the gap between their lips. She pulled away a mere second after and licked her lips as Zuko stayed petrified. "Not bad, not bad..." She commented before kissing him again, planning to last _much_ longer than one second this time.

Zuko eventually registered what was happening. Most of his mind screamed him to fidget enough to break her clasp and run away, but a little part of his mind, that he rarely if ever listened to told him not to do so. No, this part was not desire. It was _survival instinct_. It warned him of what Ty Lee, _friend_ of _Azula_, would do if he resisted. It brought a very bad mental image and Zuko closed his eyes and tried to shake his head to clear off his mind. It was already difficult to think; a girl, quite attractive his common sense admitted -but Zuko never listened to that part of his mind either-, was ravaging his lips. His teeth's stoic defence would soon fall to the relentless assaults of her tongue.

"Prince Zuko?"

Zuko's eyes shot open as he heard his uncle's voice outside the tent while Ty Lee just opened one eye. "Oh, well." She sighed as she pulled away and got off Zuko. She strolled to her dressing table as Zuko stayed on the chair, twitching slightly. Even though Iroh's intervention saved him from _whatever_ would have followed, he was still white with fear. As he was also blushing furiously, his complexion settled for a lovely tone of pink that Ty Lee had most certainly noticed and liked. He considered changing his '_Azula always lies'_ to '_Girls are crazy'_, as after all the latter could include the former, but his train of thought was interrupted when Ty Lee came back and put his helmet in his hands.

"Th-thanks..." He managed to stutter as he hesitantly put his helmet on.

"Thanks?" Ty Lee leaned closer to Zuko, fluttering her eyelashes at him. "_What_ for?"

She never had her answer as Zuko was out of the tent in a split second. 

-

Many months later, Ty Lee had reunited with her friends. After a parody of hostage exchange, she was walking with Mai beside Azula's litter in New Ozai, previously known as Omashu. 

"So, we're tracking down your brother and Uncle, huh?"

"It'll be interesting seeing Zuko again, won't it, Mai?" Ty Lee hoped her friend would have fun when meeting Zuko again. She knew _she_ would...

At the very moment she thought this, far away in the wilderness, a banished prince passing off as a commoner suddenly found himself in very, very, _very_ cold sweat.


	2. Chapter 2

**Avatar: the last airbender belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko and Nickelodeon.  
Just a little interlude...**

**-**

Azula should be glad. She had finally ditched the human mistakes constituting the royal escort as well as the creepy twins serving as her personal teachers and she was on her way to meet one of the very few people she didn't consider irreparably worthless. But the sight of the giant circus tent where she would find Ty Lee didn't make her forget the first failure of her life. The incompetence of her royal guards and the stupidity of her captain played no small part in her relatives' escape, but her humiliating introduction to the cold waters was her fault only. How could she let herself be surprised by the tea addict serving her as an uncle?

She would have taken her frustration out on the ship captain, but he had taken advantage of the fight to flee for his life and remained unfound. She couldn't harm the other human errors accompanying her either, as the Fire Lord preferred the royal guard to remain unscathed for the parades. So this left only one person. She might not even have to hurt her, Ty Lee always had a gift to make people's troubles wash away just by being her optimist self.

So, the Fire Princess was understandably disappointed when the only welcome she received was a platypus bear with a funny hat dancing the jig with a rabbaroo wearing a dress. And they didn't even notice her. She sighed before visiting the deserted circus.

Azula eventually reached a large tent from which she could hear aching gasps and difficult breathing. As she crept closer to the tent, she heard a scream followed by whispers. She frowned. Someone was being tortured and she had not been invited?

"What is happening here?" She demanded as she drew the curtain and entered the tent.

An old man with a small beard and thin moustaches, dressed richly, turned his head and gave her a surprised look. He was standing before various entertainers, themselves circling around the source of the painful cry she had heard. Obviously, all the circus crew was in this tent, which explained why the place felt deserted.

"Princess Azula..." The old man said politely, though uneasily. "We'll be more at ease to speak outside. What owes us the hon-"

A woman's voice, coming from inside the circle, interrupted him. "It's a boy!"

"What is the meaning of this?" Azula angrily spat before shoving the artists aside in order to reach what peaked her interest. Her eyes widened.

She recognized a tired, older, Ty Lee leaning against a vast amount of pillows, her legs wide apart and holding a baby in her arms. A _baby_. Azula stayed stunned, unable to react.

"Say hello to your nephew!" Her friend called with as much strength and happiness she could muster.

And that was when Azula, unshakable heir of the ruthless Fire Nation, fainted.

-

Azula's eyes shot open as she was suddenly awake. Nails piercing her red silk blanket, she straightened up and inspected the room. It was the same dark, cold and metallic room she shared with Mai and Ty Lee in the tank train they used to chase the Avatar.

She cast her eyes on the sleeping form of her friends. She couldn't distinguish Mai for she remained still as she slept, but Ty Lee was easier to notice as she kept turning over in her bed.

Now reassured that it had only been a dream, the princess relaxed. But one thing still bothered her and she had a feeling she wouldn't manage to sleep until she what it was. The nightmare had a familiar feeling. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she was sure she already had similar, vivid dreams. Though they had not been nightmares if she recalled correctly. She remembered them to be more pleasant dreams...

That was it! She had had a dream with this familiar feeling a little before the siege of the Northern Water Tribe. She had dreamed of the admiral Zhao slaying the Moon Spirit, thus ensuring a memorable victory for the Fire Nation. She had also dreamed of her brother being mortally electrocuted by her own hand after a hopeless fight caused by her stupid captain's slip.

But neither dream had happened, though very close to reality. She wondered if they had a common point and soon discovered it. It if wasn't for her uncle's hindrance, be it by betraying Zhao or sabotaging her lightning, both would have happened.

And those dreams had the very same feeling as the nightmare she just had. Had Iroh not interfered, it would have happened...

Azula cast a last, worried look over her shoulder, in the direction of Ty Lee. Now, she _knew_ she would not manage to get any sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Avatar: the last airbender belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino, Bryan Konietzko and Nickelodeon.**

-

Jin sighed as she drank another gulp of her tea. The shop was deserted save for her and the _cute_ waiter on whom she had a crush. As for his uncle, he had taken advantage of the current lack of clientele to go chat with the neighbours and compliment them on their baby, who was named Hope from what she gathered. She sighed again as she glanced sadly at Lee who was sweeping the floor half-heartedly after cleaning the windows outside. Jin looked down in her drink. 

She couldn't help feeling disappointed about their date. Lee walking away had hurt her feelings, but not as much as knowing he didn't want to sort out his 'complicated' problem with her. She didn't like to see him so miserable. Unless he had another girl in his heart, it constituted a good reason to flee the date as well. Perhaps that was why he was so sad, perhaps he missed his significant other. Jin heaved another sigh, _she_ had wanted to be this important person.

The door opened and someone came in the almost empty tea shop. The girl wore a long green robe with a dark armour protecting her chest and hips, as well as a golden head piece. She was very pretty, but Jin didn't know whether it was natural or caused by the amount of white and red makeup covering her round face. The Kyoshi warrior scanned the room and suddenly, her eyes were lit and a sly smile was gracing her lips.

Jin frowned as she watched the girl walk toward the waiter, hands on her swinging hips. "Hey there sweetie!" Zuko turned his head, raising an eyebrow and she winked at him. "I saw you outside. How's it been since last time?" She flashed him a grin. Jin tried to calm her breath as the possibility that the newcomer was her crush's girlfriend dawned on her. Still, she listened on the upcoming conversation.

"Who are you?" Zuko asked suspiciously, still sweeping the floor. The girl's outfit looked quite familiar. Jin discreetly pumped her fist in the air with a triumphant smile.

"You don't remember me?" She pouted, faking disappointment and sadness. "But we slept together!"

Jin dropped her fist, tea cup and jaw while Zuko let his broom go, crashing on the floor, his eyes bulging out of their sockets. "I never slept with anybody!" He cried and took a few steps back, as the girl leaned closer to him.

His claim was true, he had never seduced nor been seduced by anyone. Granted, there was that one time in that one tavern in the northern Earth Kingdom after the defeat at the North Pole. He recalled being very drunk as well as certain bounty hunter, very sober, who _really_ wanted her _reward_ for the help she had provided them to track the Avatar. But it was an alcohol-induced accident, so it didn't count.

Ty Lee, in her Kyoshi disguise, smirked mentally. Teasing Zuko was _so much fun_. "Well, to be perfectly fair..." She pressed her body against his, causing his cheeks to heat very much while Jin thought her blood was going to literally boil. "We _would_ have done so..." She lifted his chin and her voice became a purr. "If it weren't for that little interruption..."

Zuko finally found the strength to push Ty Lee from him. But her comment had triggered his memory and he now remembered the outfit's origin. The island of Kyoshi, where he had been stuck for a few days due to the ferocious attack of a giant eel on his poor, helpless and obsolete ship before he could chase the Avatar after his escape. He then had been forced to help repairing the houses he had burnt and he remembered the _very_ interested glances the Kyoshi warriors shot him as he worked shirtless... It seemed the interest of the one in front of him didn't diminish at all since then.

The banished prince tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, examining the girl in front of him. "You don't look like Suki." He replied, unconvinced. The memory of that little Koko girl walking in on him and the attractive leader of the Kyoshi warriors undressing each other in the deserted training room brushed his mind. He coughed to cover a nervous laugh as he recollected their furious blush and their pathetic attempt at a reasonable explanation to the innocent kid. Then, he realized what he had just let slip and covered his mouth in a hurry.

Ty Lee didn't bother to fight the sly smirk growing on her face and her eyes lit up with amusement whereas Jin's own eyes widened greatly. "WHAT?" She screamed, jealousy taking over the part of her mind telling her she was in no position to be possessive. "Who's Suki!" She demanded as she got up from her chair and marched toward Zuko, hands slightly twitching.

Zuko swallowed the lump in his throat before backing away. "Well, you see..." He tried his hardest not to stutter. "I hadn't seen a pretty girl in three years, the only good-looking boy she had known in ages had just fled before me, and..." Neither one of his listeners managed to understand his babbling. Zuko realized it and thought that it was better that way.

Then, he decided he should not be intimidated by a commoner and, in the most princely and manliest manner he could manage, he dashed off the tea shop while screaming like a manly, princely little girl.

Jin picked up the broom, casualty of war and fallen comrade of her crush. "Lee?" She heard a laugh and shot its source a look so dirty, it could have scared the broom away if she didn't hold it so firmly. "That's your fault." She eventually said. The acrobat ceased her giggle, looked at Jin with surprised eyes, and doubled up. "What's so funny?" She barked.

"Please, I'm _so_ much prettier than you. _You_ scared him away." She giggled again. Her voice wasn't laced with venom when she said that, but that angered the refugee more. She would have retorted something nasty, but someone walked in and interrupted them.

"Ah. Here you are." Jin looked at the bored newcomer. Save for her head piece, her attire was identical to the girl she was about to admonish. Her face was more angular than both of theirs and her hair, black as night. "I've seen some poor guy sprint off the building and thought you'd be here." She dusted off the back of her gloves with mastered nonchalance. "I've been searching you everywhere. Azu..." She shot an uninterested glance at Jin. "We have to go."

Ty Lee walked toward the exit. "If you see 'Lee' again, tell him I'll see him soon." She winked at her. "_Very soon_." She then disappeared of sight as well as her friend, leaving a fuming Jin to tighten her grip on the broom even more.

"You're really a flirt, you know that?" Mai deplored as they walked down the street.

"I know, I know..." She replied, a smug grin on her face. Zuko's presence would be her secret, for now. She preferred to keep him as long as she could, before Mai monopolized him all for herself. She started to muse and stroked her chin. Mai noticed.

"What are you thinking?" She asked, hiding her anxiety. Ty Lee thinking never meant any good.

She waved her hand dismissively at the blade specialist. "Oh, nothing." She pondered, what did Mai think of time-share?

-

**Why did Jun go to Zuko instead of Iroh for her, erm, **_**payment**_**? How did Suki and Zuko come to the point described in the story? Did they pretext it was a game and will Koko use this game on Aang the next time she sees him? All that is up to your imagination, people!  
Except that, if you read and enjoyed the story, please review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**This fanfiction was started back when Zuko being a supremely oblivious idiot who wouldn't know what to do if Mai dropped naked on his lap was a valid interpretation of his character, and I will keep him as a supremely oblivious idiot who wouldn't know what to do if Mai dropped naked in his lap. Damn.**

-

"Hello prince Zuko!"

Zuko only heard vague noise. He nodded mechanically in response to the Joo Dee's greeting and walked past her.

In spite of the fateful events that occurred a few hours ago, Zuko felt relieved as he paced endlessly in the many corridors of the Earth Palace. He'd finally done what was right. He'd finally returned to the straight and narrow after three years of dangerous foolishness.

"Hello prince Zuko!"

Zuko waved his hand dismissively at the new Joo Dee and then returned promptly to his musing.

He'd deprived his nation of a victory over the northern Water Tribe by siding against his countrymen and Zhao instead of with them. Granted, the admiral had hired pirates to assassinate him, but he _did_ allow the Avatar to escape out of selfishness when he impersonated the Blue Spirit, so Zhao _had_ some kind of right to do it.

"Hello prince Zuko!"

Zuko didn't even hear the third Joo Dee and walked past her without noticing her presence. He continued to wander until he found himself in an empty room with a balcony. A little fresh air wouldn't hurt.

If the admiral's death weighed on his conscience, it was nothing compared to the soldiers' fate. He knew they were nameless redshirts nobody really cared about, but _he_ cared about them; he had been banished for this very reason after all. And he was sure he was the only one caring about the soldiers he knocked off the ramparts in the thirteen episode of the first season, too.

Nevertheless, now that he was redeeming himself by joining his sister, perhaps karma would cast a favourable eye upon him from now on.

"Hi Zuko!"

Zuko's blood left his face in an instant, leaving something as cold as the iciest waters of the poles. He ever so slowly turned his head towards the newcomer, hoping that delaying the moment he saw her would make her disappear. Just as she entered his eyesight, she jumped on him and hugged him.

Zuko already regretted having chosen to stay on the balcony. The only escape route available implied dozens of broken bones at best. The other route was blocked by someone he'd hoped not to see before he became fire lord, a position that would allow him enough muscular and handsome bodyguards to distract Ty Lee and thus earning their name and at the same preserving his dignity.

"…Hi, Ty Lee," Zuko said through clenched teeth. "How… nice… to see you again." He swore he could hear his jaw creak with the effort.

"Isn't it a wonderful night?" was the acrobat's sole response as she hugged him tighter.

Zuko didn't answer and merely looked up when Ty Lee did.

A moustached Dai Li agent walking on the wall stopped walking, waved at them and then returned to his patrol.

Ty Lee's mouth hung open for a moment, but before long she giggled. "Wasn't it awkward and funny at the same time, Zuko?" Her gaze shifted from the leaving Dai Li agent to the stars above them. "Zuko?" she repeated when no reply came.

That was when she realised that the firebender had somehow managed to slip out of her hug without her noticing and had vanished.

She giggled again. "I love it when they're hard to catch."

-

Mai scrutinised a long green dress with intense distaste. She put it back in the wardrobe which came with the guest room offered by the tricked Earth King and took another one out. Outrageously yellow. She shoved it back in the darkest and most forgotten corner of the cupboard. At least, pink seemed to be inexistent in the Earth Kingdom fashion, but it reassured her only slightly.

She had told her friends – or nuisances, if you asked her the truth – she would spend the rest of the night looking for an attire actually practical for her knives, but Azula's knowing smirk and Ty Lee's refrained titter proved they thought it wasn't the only reason. Indeed, Mai was trying to find an outfit Zuko may like, preferably the least Earth Kingdom-looking possible since his time as a refugee must have sickened him. She understood him too well.

But it still infuriated her that she remained predictable as soon as Zuko was involved when he was the very reason she chose to appear impassive in the first place.

The sudden opening and brutal closure of the door brought her attention on none other than Zuko, who slumped against the doorframe, panting heavily. All of sudden, Mai was infinitely thankful that none of Ty Lee's habits had rubbed off on her, to be more accurate the mania she had to undress herself _before_ even having chosen which clothes to wear. She just was _not_ ready for getting walked in on in her underwear, let alone completely naked.

Though she _could_ make an exception for Zuko...

Unfortunately for Mai, her mind started to associate her current ideas to the point of making her picture Zuko walking in on a barely clothed, if actually clothed, Ty Lee. The following scenes unfolding in her mind caused her to blush and very audibly swallow a lump in her throat.

Zuko opened his eyes and stared at the source of the noise. As he observed the strangely familiar girl, he hoped he didn't jump from the frying pot into the fire. His limbs ached from running too quickly, but he wanted to _not_ look completely scared and desperate. So he got up. "Hello," he uttered in the calmest manner he could muster. "You're not going to… make out with me or stalk me for days, are you?"

Mai's right eye twitched almost imperceptibly. "No," she said, more nervously than she'd have preferred. "Why would I?" It _wasn't_ like she'd repeatedly thought about doing that back when they were children. "…Who would do that?"

"Mad girls I think," Zuko replied. "That one guy was annoying too," he added under his breath.

Mai could feel the innocence she prided herself to possess – unlike Ty Lee – vanish as the mental image of Zuko and a potentially handsome boy sharing a passionate kiss.

"…Your nose is bleeding."

Mai widened her eyes and mechanically swiped the blood off her face with her sleeve. Before she could react, Ty Lee's voice resounded in the nearby hall, though she was too flustered to recognise it.

Zuko however was not, so he settled for an acrobatic escape through the window. He somehow managed to trip on the railing in the process and eventually ended head first in a pond two floors lower.

Ty Lee opened the door at the exact same time Zuko recovered and disappeared in the gardens faster than a crush of Azula's chased by the princess. She looked around, saw Mai and found her looking like a statue even more than usual, shrugged and left after closing the door.

Mai's impure thoughts – but then why did they feel so good? – finally left her mind and she could reason again. Disappointment and anger ultimately dawned on her when she had realised she had missed a chance with Zuko because of something she was too distracted to notice. And worse, that he didn't even recognise her.

"I hate this place."

-

Azula was sprawled on the throne sucking her thumb and daydreaming about the deaths of the Avatar's friends when one of the side doors cracked violently and collapsed inwards, startling her enough for her to jump off the throne and tumble down the stairs leading to the throne.

Being Azula, of course, she made it look badass.

Zuko ran to her and grabbed her shirt, lifting her off the ground. "SAVE ME!"

Azula just widened her eyes and before she could even think about voicing the beginning of an answer, Zuko looked towards the broken door, dropped her unceremoniously and dashed behind one of the huge pillars of the room.

Ty Lee soon entered the scene, wearing a smug smile. "Have you seen Zuko?" she asked, not even wondering why Azula was spread out on the floor. Probably not caring either, too. After all, the princess remained fully clothed.

Azula looked up at Ty Lee, then at the pillar Zuko was hiding behind (successfully, to her great surprise), then at Ty Lee again. She mechanically shook her head and Ty Lee shrugged and left the throne room.

She didn't believe Azula, naturally, but there was a big chance the princess would make the situation even more amusing. With a little luck, Mai would even get involved. The hunt would be much more enjoyable if she had some competition (preferably not from Azula, though).

Once he was sure the nymphomaniac had disappeared, Zuko ran back to his sister and helped her up. "You must help me!"

Normally, Azula would have enjoyed the idea of Zuko being constantly scared to death, even if it was by someone other than herself. But she recalled a certain dream and most certainly did not want to deal with the screams Ty Lee wouldn't fail to produce at least twenty times a day if she got her hands on her brother. Managing a pregnant acrobat was also out of the question.

And let's not even begin with suffering Mai's angst once she found out. Though that was in the best case; for all she knew, Ty Lee would share her loot with Mai and the princess absolutely refused to have her days and nights wasted away because of constant squeals of pure bliss.

So, instead of savouring Zuko's torture, she sought to end it. "And how could I help you?"

"Let me sleep with you!"

Her only answer was a strangled choke.

"She's still scared of you right?" Zuko went on. "If I sleep in your room, she won't dare to abduct me once I sleep!"

Azula let out a sigh of relief. "You scared me for a second. Alright. You can sleep with me. But you'll lose any part of your body that touches me, understood?"

Zuko nodded. This was a perfect plan. Nothing could go go wrong.

Famous last words.


	5. Chapter 5

Mai yawned, sat up in her bed and stretched her back and arms as she woke up. She just had the most _scrumptious_ dream about Zuko and a drop dead gorgeous hunk with a twig held in his teeth... not that it was the only thing he had put in his mouth. She briefly wondered, before getting out of her bed, if Zuko would mind entertaining her with a fellow male once he was hers.

Oh, who was she kidding? It wasn't like he would have the choice.

She stretched her long legs as she silently thanked the fact they each slept in their own room ever since Azula took over. It pleased her especially that Ty Lee had not, like she did every single morning since they started travelling together, woken them up by jumping on their beds squealing before cartwheeling away from Azula's firebending wrath.

Mai supposed that was because she was making out with a Dai Li agent. Or two. Or three.

Probably three.

In any case, it could have been even better if Azula had given her and Zuko only one room with one bed…

All in all, Mai, surprisingly, was pretty upbeat.

She looked like she would cut herself every ten minutes instead of every five minutes.

After fully dressing herself, Mai decided she would skip breakfast and immediately go to Zuko's room. As she walked through the halls of the gargantuan palace, she allowed a smile to grace her lips. If everything went as planned, maybe she _wouldn't_ be skipping breakfast…

Mai then rolled her eyes. Ty Lee was definitely rubbing off on her.

If only she stopped doing that _physically_ too…

She finally reached the room and opened quietly the door only to be welcome by a completely empty room with an untouched bed. That was when she remembered that, for some reason she was unaware of and preferred not to dwell upon, Zuko was sleeping with Azula.

Which was just… wrong-sick.

And infinitely hot, too, although she'd never admit it out loud.

As she found Azula's room, she noticed the door was open. She silently poked her head in to see if any of the siblings were inside.

One of them was, still resting on the bed.

Tied up and gagged.

Unconscious.

In her underwear.

Mai was floored.

She entered the room and circled the bed. If she had to guess, she'd say Azula had been chi-blocked as well, since tying up a firebender, even an unconscious one, with flammable materials was not the smartest move.

Chi-blocked...

That was when she understood everything.

Zuko, when she first saw him, was running away from nymphomaniac extraordinaire Ty Lee. He had asked to sleep with his sister in hopes to deter the acrobat's not innocent at all advances. Sadly for everyone involved but the resident teenaged man eater, Ty Lee had decided Zuko was worth the risk, to the point of chi-blocking the princess and turning her into ball of thread.

Mai growled. She would teach her to try to steal her man! She was about to dash out of the room to find her rival but something stopped her.

From the doorway, she looked back at the unconscious form of her supposed leader.

Alone.

Defenceless.

In her underwear.

Mai knew a once a lifetime occasion when she saw one.

She bit her lower lip. She looked at – nay, _oggled_ – Azula. Then looked at the hall outside the bedroom. Then back at Azula. Then back at the hall.

Azula.

Hall.

Azula.

Hall.

Azula.

In her underwear.

Mai bit her lip harder.

Decisions, decisions…

-

Zuko cursed his captor inwardly. Then he cursed his sister for not specifying joining her implied prolonged contact with said captor. Then the Avatar, just for good measure. And Jet too. He hated the guy.

He cursed inwardly and not out loud for a very simple reason: Ty Lee had been busy with a very audacious exploration of his mouth for the past ten minutes.

He laid on what he guessed to be her bed, wearing nothing more than his boxers with Fire Nation emblems on it while she straddled his waist. Again. At least, she was wearing her Dai Li clothes… not that he expected those to remain on her for long.

Either way, he noticed that Ty Lee's position and warmth made his own blood warm up and rush to a certain part of his anatomy.

Namely, his legs.

Unfortunately, his fight or flight (especially flight) response had been cut short by Ty Lee's chi-blocking abilities, a little before she abducted him from his sister's bed to take him to her own.

He really missed season one now. No Jet, no Azula, no Ty Lee… Only Suki...

After what felt like a very uncomfortable eternity, Ty Lee _finally _pulled away to catch her breath.

Before she could even think about kissing him again, Zuko squeaked, "You know, I'm gay. Really."

Ty Lee merely giggled as she arched her back, offering him quite a view. "Suki's not a boy's name."

Zuko's eyes widened. "I... I don't see what you're talking about," he uneasily replied, slightly blushing and looking away from Ty Lee's assets. "I assure you, I _am_ gay!"

"Liar."

"...How did you know? Are you a seeress?"

Ty Lee giggled _again_. "Think harder."

"Telepath?"

"Harder."

"Palantir?"

"Harder – oh, speaking of harder..." Ty Lee smirked devilishly as she started grinding her hips on his waist, which caused Zuko to blush furthermore and swallow a lump in his throat. "Seems I didn't chi-block _all_ of you..."

That was when the door opened very violently. In the doorway stood the one girl he had met the day before. His saviour had finally come!

"BACK OFF BITCH, HE'S MINE!"

Alright, so his saviour had _not_ finally come. What did he do to Agni to deserve such torment?

Ty Lee pivoted her upper body to face Mai and scoffed. "Such foul language coming from a noblewoman's mouth."

"What will be coming of _your_ mouth will be your _teeth_ if you don't get your circus freak body off my Zuko right now."

With that, Mai took out two very menacing knives from underneath her sleeves, an endeavour which impressed... nobody. Knives were for losers.

"Oh, but I'm positive he doesn't want me gone," Ty Lee said with a wink.

"You're lying."

"I'm not." Ty Lee smirked. "And neither is he, if you can catch my drift." To emphasise her point, she rocked her hips hard, causing Zuko's eyes to widen and his face to turn pale. "Hm, I wonder where all this blood is going..." she commented with a titter before going back to molesting Zuko's tongue.

Mai was outraged.

And slightly turned on.

"I saw him first," she hissed.

Ty Lee pulled away. "I kissed him first," she retorted before taking Zuko's tongue hostage with her own again.

Mai was positively furious as this point. "I bet he prefers me," she said with an eerie calm.

"Hm hm," Ty Lee mumbled, not even bothering to pull away this time, which enraged the older girl even more.

Ty Lee interrupted her buccal exploration to breathe. "Now, would you _mind_ leaving? _I_ let you have your breakfast undisturbed," she sighed as she turned her head towards Mai.

"What will break fast will be your arms if you don't stop making out with my man," Mai muttered under her breath.

Oh, such pent-up aggression!" Ty Lee giggled. "Maybe you _do_ need some Zuzushine!"

Mai blinked. "Beg your pardon?"

Ty Lee hopped off Zuko and the bed, leaving Mai to steal a glance at a very specific and currently very active part of his anatomy. "Best friends share everything, don't they?" Ty Lee said with a smirk as she walked closer to Mai.

"You don't mean..."

Ty Lee giggled.

Mai smirked.

Zuko despaired.


End file.
